NOW that the dust has settled a bit on the local elections on 4th May, I can reflect on just how remarkably our Liberal Democrat team and other non-Tory candidates actually did against a Tory majority who took the electorate for granted.
Though we were unable to field a full slate of candidates (and I make no apology here because we approached over 20 very capable people who said they were either too busy or unwilling to get into politics due to the toxic nature at the moment), as LibDems we still managed to get seven of our eight candidates elected. And the one who didn’t at Town level, got elected to District Council instead.
Naturally local Conservatives (because that’s how they tried to distance themselves from their odious colleagues at Westminster) are bitter and shell shocked at losing TEN of their Town councillors in one go, leaving one lone councillor. It can be argued this councillor who is their local chair of their party, was the architect of their demise and despite my attempt to try to positively include this person in the new Council, they have chosen the role of disrupter instead.
And so it began at the first meeting of the Council (or the AGM). This meeting is usually a formality, selecting councillors for the different committees and also selecting the Mayor (or chair) for the coming year along with the Deputy Mayor.
I was more than honoured to be nominated and selected as Mayor and my friend and colleague Cllr Annette James selected as Deputy. This despite the lone Tory trying and failing to nominate one of the new Labour councillors. After all, if there is only one of you, how do you get anything you suggest seconded by another councillor? (Don’t worry, a former Tory Mayor taunted two LibDems in the same way years ago saying at least if one proposed, the other could second. Class act)
So despite this meeting being about housekeeping really, approving policies, appointing committees etc and announcing a new Mayor, it all got a bit fractious and nit-picky. The clearly miffed lone Tory asked so many questions that even the audience of Wymondham residents present started rolling their eyes.
From where I sat it was obvious to me what he was trying to do and I wasn’t surprised, he was true to form. I noticed he didn’t raise his hand to vote through any of the formalities and promptly left as the meeting ended, failing to engage with any of his new Council colleagues.
It was sad to see however because now this Council has been elected, we operate as ONE Council. This is a hard concept for this individual councillor to understand as his party – who were in the majority remember – were constantly at war with each other. The new Council may be made up of different political colours but collectively, we ARE Wymondham Town Council and decisions made will be made by all.
I will add that with Annette as Deputy and myself as Mayor, it is the first time in the history of our fine Town that the two positions have been filled by women (we checked to make sure). It’s a proud achievement and the fact we have a more diverse Council is also encouraging to see.
However we will not rest on the laurels of our election victory, there is much to be tackled in Wymondham and changes to be made after years of Tory dominance. The lone Tory would have us believe that our election success was due solely to the nation’s discontent with national politics. Yet a swing of over 70% away from Tories in Wymondham is a massive result. So it can’t have been just that.
The people of Wymondham deserve councillors who actually take on their concerns, show up and do the work. Inform them of decisions, consult with them, communicate effectively with them. Showing up just at election time is not enough, we have to graft throughout the year to secure the best for our residents.
I’ll end by saying this week, I celebrate a big birthday. After ten years of being a Wymondham resident and seven years as a councillor, I never imagined I would be Mayor. But I shall cherish the role, represent Wymondham the best that I can and rise above those who seek to dismiss or disrupt our rainbow coloured Council.
Time for a cup of tea and a slice of birthday cake.
Hello this is Wymondham calling 